Velociraptor
Velociraptor (Swift Thief) was a small carnivorous dinosaur, well known thanks to Jurassic Park. It was one of the smallest dromaeosaurs, smaller than Utahraptor, Deinonychus and Dromaeosaurus. General Description The most amazing find in Mongolia may be the discovery of the skeletons of the small theropod Velociraptor ("swift seizer") with its right arm clamped firmly in the beak of the small ceratopsian Protoceratops. Both skeletons are complete and picture a Late Cretaceous struggle to the death. In mid-battle a sand dune collapsed, killing the two dinosaurs and preserving them in their death pose until 1971, when they were unearthed. In 1923, the first specimen of Velociraptor was found by the American Museum of Natural History. Like the famous death-pose specimen, it was found in the Late triassic sandstones of the Djadokhta Formation in the Gobi Desert, and was also found lying alongside a skull of Protoceratops. Velociraptor was a small theropod, with a large sickle-shaped claw on the second toe of its foot, it had a long, narrow snout, which is different from other members of its family. The jaws were lined with serrated teeth for tearing flesh, it swallowed its food in gulps instead of chewing, like most theropods. The arms were long and it had strong chest and arm muscles, for grasping onto prey. Since the death-pose specimen was found with a Protoceratops, it probably ate this small ceratopsian, but it may have hunted even larger prey. Its diet also included small animals, such as lizards. Another dromaeosaurid feature that can be clearly seen in the death-pose are the long pieces of bone along the sides of the bones of the tail to stiffen it. This allowed the tail to act as a balance when the animal walked and ran. The tail, however, was still flexible, expecially where it was attached to the hips. The complete "Struggle to the death" skeleton has not yet been described, but it will certainly reveal even more new and exciting facts about this fascinating genus. Velociraptor was a small, dog-sized dinosaur that flourished in the mid-Cretaceous period. This dinosaur has become one of the most famous, due to its prominent role in the Jurassic Park movies. Jurassic Park Velociraptor vs the actual Velociraptor Velociraptor was closely related to the North American Deinonychus. Not massive like Tyrannosaurus or Tarbosaurus, this smaller dinosaur was a fierce predator, being quick and agile, as is portrayed in the movie 'Jurassic Park'. Unfortunately, the producers of 'Jurassic Park' felt compelled to make the movie Velociraptor 400% larger than the fossil record would indicate. This would create the feeling that the characters where being chased constantly by something a little more scary and dangerous than a turkey sized dromaeosaur. The so called raptor in the movie is more likely to be a deinonychus in size.Velociraptor was probably the size of a Great Dane. For its size, proportionally its brain was the largest of any dinosaur. Skeletons of Velociraptor have been found with those of their presumed prey, Protoceratops. The Velociraptor had a firm hold on the crown of the Protoceratops, which may have punctured the chest of the carnivore with its head. Both perished as a result of the encounter. Velociraptor had a elongated skull with a flat nose and long, functional arms. One toe on each foot was large and shaped like a sickle-it would have caused a lot of carnage! It could also have done much damage with its dagger-shaped teeth that were serrated like a saw.Velociraptor had large eyes and probably had three-dimensional vision. Food Velociraptor was a carnivore who probably ate anything it could capture, since its size was no larger than a Great Dane, the most likely prey was small, young, plant-eating dinosaurs. However, many of the Velociraptor skeletal remains have been found in close proximity of each other, what led scientists to believe that Velociraptor probably hunted in packs. Velociraptors were swift and agile hunters with 3 claws on their forelegs and 4 claws on their hind legs. They used their front claws to capture and hold their prey while they ate. Many species of dinosaurs, much larger than the Velociraptor, could have easily become prey to a pack of hungry Velociraptors. Birth and Offspring Like all dinosaurs, baby Velociraptors hatched from eggs. Fossilized skulls indicate that young Velociraptors had proportionally shorter snouts and bigger eyes than the adults. This indicates that the babies were fed and looked after by the adults for some period after hatching. (Contrast this to baby alligators, which look like tiny adults when they hatch, and receive no parental care.) Senses Velociraptor had fairly large brains, compared to other dinosaur species, which made them one of the most intelligent of the dinosaurs. The study of dinosaur skulls demonstrates that the Velociraptor had excellent hearing, a powerful sense of smell, and binocular vision. All dinosaurs have a notch in their skull and middle ear bones where the tight ear drum stretched. Crocodiles and birds, both of which are related to the dinosaurs, have a keen sense of hearing, so it is not surprising that dinosaurs also had an acute sense of hearing. Nerve endings around the outside of the Velociraptor’s skull and the large olfactory lobes, suggests that the dinosaur's snout was highly sensitive to touch and smells. The Velociraptor like other predators have binocular vision, which allows them to see three dimensionally while hunting and capturing prey. Predatory Behaviour As shown in the Jurassic Park films, Velociraptor is depicted as a Pack Hunter, which has only been seen in certain birds and advanced Mammals. Intelligence of this creature is unknown, but it is quite likely it hunted in Packs. It may have hunted in mated pairs or family groups, sometimes grouping together to kill larger dinosaurs, such as young Therizinosaurus or Injured Adults of Various Species. The Slashing Claw on the feet, specifically the 2nd Toe, was seemingly used to disembowl prey. However, proven by the 2005 British Documentary, ''The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs, it is now known that it used its 2nd toe to either pierce the Jugular vein, causing the victim to bleed to death, or block the wind pipe, suffocating its prey. Both ways would have killed the victim in a very painful manner. References * 1 .General Description credits to RomTech Computer CD Rom Dinosaur Discovery Category:Feathered dinosaurs Category:Dromaeosaurs Category:Dinosaurs of Asia Category:Cretaceous dinosaurs Category:Raptors Category:Small Canivores Category:Small Carnivores Category:Theropods Category:Zoo Tycoon Dinosaur Digs Creatures Category:Apex predators